Jersey City murder trial defense: No evidence accused killer threw teen into river

The fate of a Jersey City man accused of fatally throwing a teen who was shot in a large-scale fight into the Hudson River is now in the hands of the jury after just three days of trial.

Albert Robinson, 26, did not take the stand in his own defense at the trial, which is being conducted under heightened security. The Jersey City man who authorities say has gang affiliations is charged with murdering Jermaine Williams, 17, also of Jersey City, on the Downtown Jersey City waterfront on June 5, 2010.

Authorities say Robinson threw Williams into the river after Williams was shot by Joshua Robinson, Albert Robinson's cousin. Joshua Robinson, 22, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, his aunt said in the packed courtroom today.

Albert Robinson's attorney, Adrienne Edwards, told the jury in closing statements today that the Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor Devarup Rastogi provided no physical evidence that Robinson threw Williams over the railing and into the Hudson River.

"Did the prosecution give any information that shows Albert Robinson put Jermaine Williams into the water?" she asked the jury. "No."

Earlier today Edwards called only two witnesses, Jersey City Police Officer John Mack and Joe Bonaccorso, a sergeant in the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office.

Mack provided gripping testimony of police officers' failed attempts to pull Williams from the water before he drowned.

The officer testified that he observed Joshua Robinson and another man shooting at each other in a crowd of approximately 150 people on the Jersey City waterfront.

When Mack instructed both men to drop their weapons, the men fled in opposite directions, Mack testified, adding that he chased Robinson and apprehended him a short time later.

Mack then revealed that because of something that was said to him -- the court would not let him elaborate -- he returned to the waterfront and found Williams struggling in the river as he held on to an officer’s leg trying to get out of the water. It was later revealed that Williams did not know how to swim.

Mack leaned over the waterfront railing and attempted to grab Williams, but was unsuccessful. Officers struggled to help Williams out of the water, but they failed and Williams drowned.

In his closing statement, Rastogi dismissed the defense’s claims that Williams either jumped or fell into the water as preposterous.

“It makes no sense that Williams would jump into the water,” Rastogi told the jurors.

Because of the height of the railing on the Jersey City waterfront, it was unlikely that Williams could have fallen into the water without help, Rastogi said.

Judge Joseph Isabella then sent the case to the jury for deliberation.

Day 3 of the trial started with a juror being dismissed he reported to the judge that he felt a man was trying to intimidate members of the jury with a threatening stare as they left the courtroom Tuesday.

Earlier in the day, an assistant state medical examiner, Laura Thoma, testified that Williams could have possibly survived the gunshot wound had he not drowned.

The trial was witnessed by a standing-room-only crowd that went through a metal detector and had to show identification before entering the ninth-floor courtroom.

A spokesman for the Hudson County Sheriff's Office said the high-profile nature of the case prompted the use of a metal detector and an increased police presence in the courtroom.

Robinson wore a blue shirt and dark pants. Before the proceedings began today, Robinson's mother gave a tie to an officer, who passed it along to Robinson.